In an exciting, close fight that went eight full rounds late Saturday night, Lancaster-based boxer James “No Chill” Bernadin suffered the first loss of his professional career.
The defeat, via split decision, at the hands of Cuban boxer Ivan Jimenez (8-1) cost Bernadin (10-1) the North American Boxing Federation super lightweight championship and dropped him in the rankings. It was a disappointment to Bernadin, his team, and the fans who showed up at 2300 Arena in Philadelphia for the King’s Promotions event, Ring Wars IV, specifically to see Bernadin.
“I thought James won last night, but each fight that did not go our way was way too close,” said Marshall Kauffman, who heads up King’s and represents Bernadin, as well as multiple other boxers who fought on Saturday’s card.
In Bernadin vs. Jimenez, the judge’s final scores — 76-76, 77-75 and 78-74 — were a solid representation of the back-and-forth between the two fighters that left no decisive victor.
Bernadin entered the arena sporting blue sequined shorts trimmed in neon green. Clapping and cheers nearly drowned out the announcer’s statement that the sequins were, “Because he’s ready to shine tonight!”
Jimenez, by contrast, wore simple black and ignored the few boos that accompanied his walk-in.
The first round was a clean example of two experienced pros feeling each other out. The tension in the ring was palpable.
In round two Bernadin worked his jab, and Jimenez countered with short combos, tagging Bernadin with a few body shots.
A hard right hook that Bernadin landed in round three had the crowd cheering. At the beginning of round four the fans yelled “all day, all day!” and it did in fact look like it was Bernadin’s day to shine. He turned up the heat, had Jimenez against the ropes, and threw effective five- and six-shot combos. Jimenez countered, but nothing looked like it was at Bernadin’s level.
But, in round five, a pattern developed. Bernadin came out hard, throwing big punches that connected. Jimenez countered with multi-punch combos that were fast, but light.
The referee pulled Bernadin aside for being rough — pushing, Bernadin said — after he walked down Jimenez and put him against the ropes. Bernadin nailed his adversary at the end of the round with a blow that had Jimenez stumbling back.
But the Jimenez combos kept coming, blowing through Bernadin’s clear anger in round seven.
“Our opponent’s game plan was to answer (our meaningful shots) with trying to out hustle us,” said Bernadin’s coach, Will Torres of Lancaster City Boxing Academy.
The combos weren’t as damaging or effective as Bernadin’s hard shots, but made Jimenez look like the busier fighter, Torres said.
Both men were visibly tired at the beginning of the eighth round. Bernadin opened with a hard right, his chest heaving as he breathed. Jimenez actually fell forward, folding, his hands on the mat briefly. Then there was the bell, and Jimenez’s clasped hands as he nodded thanks to the judges and crowd.
Bernadin gathered enough energy to jump on the ropes in the corner of the ring and yell to the crowd.
The ruling, for Jimenez, had the boxer on the mat again, this time felled by joy. Moments later he held up his belt, giving thanks and dedicating his win to his country and freedom.
“I feel like I did enough to win the fight,” Bernadin said afterward. In place of his usual smile, though, was an expression of shock, and simmering frustration.
What would he do differently?
“Beat him up more,” Bernadin said.
Which was a blunt variant on Torres’ opinion that they “let the fight slip through our fingers … we just had to be a little busier.”
Bernadin did concede that Jimenez controlled the end of the eighth round.
Conditioning, also, may have been a factor. Bernadin had to cut from 147 pounds (for a previous commitment to Team Combat League) to 135 pounds for the championship battle.
Super lightweight is where Bernadin hoped to make a name for himself. But the loss means that the next step is uncertain. He may have to, “put himself in position for a fight where he will be on the B side but has to go after the bigger challenges,” Kauffman said.
“I’m not sure what’s next,” Torres said. “What’s next has changed with (the) loss.”
